Getting Started with Microsoft Copilot

Published 05/01/24 under:

At Kerv, we understand the potential that AI holds in transforming business processes.

That’s why we’re incredibly excited about Microsoft Copilot – a game-changer designed to streamline your operations and boost productivity.

In our ebook – The Kerv Guide to Getting AI Ready With Microsoft Copilot – we delve into the intricacies of incorporating this cutting-edge technology into your business. But let’s start with the basics right here.

What is Microsoft Copilot?

Microsoft Copilot integrates a powerful large language model AI into the Microsoft 365 stack. You can use Copilot to quickly create first drafts of content or custom graphics in Word or PowerPoint, or to create data forecasts or visualisations in Excel.

Copilot also integrates into Outlook and Teams, helping to summarise long chat threads, automatically create meeting notes and actions, and create emails written in an individual’s own tone of voice.

Copilot also taps into your business data via Microsoft Business Chat. Using natural language prompts you can quickly collate all available information on a particular account or project, without needing to manually trawl through old emails or documents.

Here’s a quick video from Microsoft showing how all it works…

How could Copilot benefit my business?

Copilot’s prowess lies in its ability to skyrocket productivity. Dive into the usage data showing significant time savings, with developers reporting increased satisfaction and more time dedicated to fulfilling work rather than routine tasks.

Explore how Copilot taps into your business data, creating a personalised knowledge model that surfaces insights from across your organisation—insights that might have remained hidden in the past.

From streamlining office processes to supporting sales teams and developers, Copilot proves its worth across the Microsoft 365 stack. Whether you’re seeking productivity enhancements or beefing up security with Microsoft Security Copilot, this AI tool is versatile and ready to meet your business needs.

Getting started with Copilot

As with many shiny new technologies, it’s very easy to dive straight into using AI without properly thinking through the consequences – and this can cause future headaches as you’re forced to unpick security risks and compliance issues after the fact. Proper planning is essential to make sure your first venture into AI is successful.

Get your technology and data ready

AI is the ultimate example of garbage-in, garbage-out. LLM models live or die by the training data and prompts they’re fed, and this can be the difference between harnessing benefits that transform your business or investing in tools that just don’t get used.

For companies implementing Microsoft Copilot, this means ensuring that your environment is structured to make the most of its features. Firstly, review your licenses to ensure that the users who need it will be able to take advantage of Copilot’s features. Then, ensure that your business data is accessible to Copilot, and importantly, that any highly sensitive information is appropriately protected with permissions.

To help businesses get Copilot-ready, why not take advantage of Kerv’s M365 Optimisation Package. Learn how this works below:

Start with business problems

The number one mistake we see businesses making with AI technology is applying it indiscriminately. AI has tons of potential applications, and this is a double-edged sword – there are so many areas where AI could be applied that it can be very easy to overdo it, and inadvertently cause more problems than you solve.

Instead of adding AI everywhere all at once, it’s best to start with tried-and-tested functionality. Microsoft Copilot is a great way of doing this, as it integrates across a wide range of familiar apps to help streamline the tasks most likely to save users time. From there, you’ll be ready to branch out into more innovative solutions.

Focus on governance

As a new and rapidly-developing technology, AI is no stranger to controversy. While the more dystopian aspects of an AI-driven future probably aren’t a serious concern for most businesses, there are potential ethical and regulatory issues around using AI that every company needs to be aware of before dipping their toe in the water.

This means that before you start using AI tools, it’s important to take a step back and consider what risks could be involved, and how you’re going to mitigate them. With a strong AI usage policy in place, and robust processes to review and update these based on real-world data and new developments, you’ll be able to maximise the benefits of AI technologies like Copilot whilst minimising any security, ethical or compliance risks.

Get ahead of the Kerv on AI

Ready to put Microsoft Copilot to work in your business? Thorough preparation is key to harnessing the full benefits. For a more detailed walkthrough of how to get started and what to consider, our guide to getting Copilot-ready takes you through the process of getting your technology and data ready to get the most out of AI, and to avoid any potential pitfalls.

If you need more help, the Kerv Transform team is here to assist you in optimising your processes and maximising the potential of tools like Microsoft Copilot. Contact us today to stay ahead in the world of AI and propel your business to new heights.